NEW YORK (Reuters) - Conditions are "becoming less favorable" for a low-pressure area over the central Atlantic Ocean to develop into a tropical cyclone, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Thursday in a report.

Earlier in the day, the NHC said the system, which is now located about 875 miles east of the southern Windward Islands, has "some potential for tropical cyclone formation" during the next day or so before winds become less favorable for development.

The system is moving westward at 10 to 15 miles per hour.

The energy market watches for tropical storms because they can disrupt U.S. oil and natural gas production and refining if they enter the Gulf of Mexico.

Commodities traders also track tropical storms because they can damage crops in Florida and along the Gulf Coast.

The NHC will name the next tropical storm Chantal.

Four weather models show the system moving toward Barbados over the next several days.

Barbados is one of the Windward Islands, which include Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago.